Update: FAMU and the SACS probation

ORIGINAL POST: When it comes to the regional accrediting body for colleges and universities, most of Florida's public universities have steered clear of major issues.

Florida A&M University is the only one of 11 existing state universities to have ever been placed on Southern Association of Colleges and Schools probation, the Board of Governor's told the Herald/Times. And now, FAMU is facing its second probation in five years.

Florida State University did have additional SACS attention in 2006-2007 following a cheating scandal among athletes. The accrediting organization asked FSU to provide additional paperwork to show the problems had been fixed, but there were no sanctions, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.

Accreditation is important for a university because school that aren't accredited are no longer eligible for federal financial aid. That is especially important for place like FAMU, where the majority of students accept some type of financial aid.

Probationary status means that SACS has put a school on notice to fix its issues. Affected schools face additional scrutiny and oversight outside the the periodic reviews that are part of remaining in good standing with SACS. FAMU says a special committee will visit its campus this spring, meanwhile the school is also preparing for it's normal five-year SACS review in 2013.